The niche sub-genre of metalcore has quietly built a dedicated fanbase over the past 20 years. With a sound world that is complex, dense and industrial in nature, it’s often kind of impenetrable or off-putting to those who aren’t fans—but there is much worth listening to. In this episode, we listen to The Dillinger Escape Plan, whose distinctive music—replete with complex polyrhythms and dissonance—pushed metal and hardcore to a greater level of sophistication. The progression of songs in our playlist illustrates the wide range of influences and techniques that the band incorporated and developed, and serves as a great introduction to this style.

Playlist for this episode (all tracks except #7 by The Dillinger Escape Plan)

1. Calculating Infinity - 43% Burnt (1999)
2. Irony is a Dead Scene - When Good Dogs Do Bad Things (2002)
3. Miss Machine - Setting Fire to Sleeping Giants (2004)
4. Ire Works - Black Bubblegum (2007)
5. Ire Works - When Acting as a Wave (2007)
6. One of Us Is the Killer - Nothing's Funny (2013)
7. Michael Gordon - Yo Shakespeare (1992)